Floor-board adjuster and clamp



om.A 21 1924-.' -1,512,356

T. B. MILLER FLOOR BOARD ADJUSTER AND CLAMP .Filed Sept. 5, 1922 Patented @et 2l, i924,

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rrioMAs B. MILLER, or KANSAS CITY, Mrssoum.

' stoort-BOARD ADJUs'rER AND CLAMP.`

Application ril-ed September 5, 11922. Serial No. 586,083.

1 To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that THOMAS B. MILLER, a citizen vof the United States, residing at Kansas City, 'in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Floor- Board Adjusters and Clamps, of which the following is al complete specification.

This invention relates to floor board clamps and has for one of its objects to pro duce a clamp for use with flooring boards i more particularly of the tongue and groove type to force said boards intoclosely abut tin relation when laying a floor.

other obj ect is to produce an automatic catch member which will maintain the operi ative lever in any desired position of clamp' ing adjustment, and which, when it is desired'to release the clamp and remove it for `another Y operation, will Vautomatically j release the clamp.l

A still further object is to produce a de# vice of the character described, which is of simple, strong, durable, efficient and linexpensive vconstruction and in order tha-t it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying' drawing, in

which: i i '4 I Figure 1 is ya perspective view partly broken` away to illustrate the operative/po# sition of the device in conjunction wit-h a series of floor boards.

f/Figure 2 isa top plan view vof the same.. `F1gurer 3 1s a central verticalv sectiontaken through the device just prior to being.

anchored imposition ona joist.v

oEL ai the other. The'device of the invention conf sists of a base plate 4 having at its rear end a series of projecting spurs 5 for embedrnentin a joist as will be hereinafter explained.

At the opposite end of the base from the spurs 5, said base is formed with an inclined upper face 6 provided with upwardly-pro` jecting side walls 7 formed with yslots 8V extending lat the same downward inclination as the face 6. At a point between the side walls 7 and the spurs 5, the base is formed with ay downwardly tapering opening 9 flanked by upwardly-projecting side walls 10 having a downward inclination-toward the rear end of the face as clearly shown in the drawing, said side walls being provided internally vwith apairfof shoulders 11 for ay purpose which willhereinafter Sappear. Pivoted on a bol-t 12' extending through the walls 7 is an operating handle 13 ofany suitable'length, 'j Y Adapted for, vertical movement within the opening 9 vis a tapering rack 14 formed at its upper end with a series of'teeth 15, and said rack is provided with a vertical slot 16 through which projects a pin 17 secured in the kside walls 10 of the opening. -When the device is not in operative position on a floorjoist, as shown most clearly in Figure 3, thetapering rack 14 will stand: vat its lowerinost position through force of gravity and is retained within the opening through the contact of the pin 17-withrthe upper 1 end of the slot 16. Upon theembedment of the spurs 5 in a 'joist, as Vshown in Figure 4, the rack 14 will be forced upwardly. The `parts are so proportioned, however,

thatY the bottoms of.v the teeth 15 ofthe rack,

will never rise to a point above theplane of theshoulders l1, for a purpose which will be explained hereinbelow. Pivote'd -at one end to the operating lever 13 is a dog'18v formedV with a notched lower end 19, said lower end being of su-ch width thatitl will normally ride on the shoulders 11 of the walls 10;. Y

i Adapted for sliding engagement with the slots 8 of the side wallsf7 yof the front end of the device, is a pin 20 held in position by 4a screw 21 in the stem of a Y-shafped push member 22,forme-d at itsfr'ont'ends its rear end as at 25 for pivotal engagement with a connecting link 26, pivoted at its opposite end to the lever 13.

The opera-tion of the device is substantially as follows: T he clamp is set down on a joist as shown in Figure L3, the parts occupying the positions shown. ln order to embed the spurs in the joist, the operators foot is pressed down on the sliding push member Q2, as indicated in Figure 3, and the lever 13 is pushed rearwardly and upon the impingement of the dog 18 with the lower end of the guide-way formed by the shoulders 11 of the side walls 10, the spurs 5 will be forcefully embedded in the joist, as shown in Figure 4.

Upon the embedment of the spurs 5 in the jois-t, the bottom of the wedge-shaped rac-k 14 will come into contact with the joist and the wedge-shaped rack will be forced upwardly, the teeth 15 thereof projecting lbeyond the shoulders 11 of the guide-way labove mentioned, and the dog 18 will be engaged with one of the rear teeth of the rack, as will be readily understood.

Upon the placing of the floor board in positio-n, if such action has not' already been accomplished, the operator will pull forwardly on the operating lever 13, the dog riding freely over the teeth 15 of the rack 14 until the pushmember 22 engages the floor board below the tongue and forcesl the same until it abuts a previously secured board. llt will be apparent that if the pressure on the lever 13 is released at any time, the dog, by engagement with the teeth 15 of the rack 14, will prevent the floorl board from springing back from its position, so that it can be nailed in posit-ion without the necessity of holding or paying any attention to the clamp. The operator then grasps the handle 13 and by a slight upward movement disengages the spurs 15 and then shifts the clamp along the joist for another operation, this operation being performed without any necessity of manually tripping the dog 18 as the instant an upward .pull is applied on the handle to withdraw the spurs 5, the rack,

vby gravity, drops downward from engagement with the dog 18.

'In clamps provided wit-h immovable teeth to serve as a resistance point for a dog pivoted to a handle for operation to clamp a vfloor board in place, the dog must be manually tripped preliminary to shifting the clamp to a new position after a board is secured in place, and in this respect the device of this invention possesses an advantage which permits of its operation with less iabor and much more expeditiously.

From the above description it will be apparent that l have produced a device of the character described which possesses all of the features of advantage set forth as declaimed the preferred embodiment of the same, I reserve the right to make all changes properly falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

l claim 1. n a floor 'board clamp, the combination with a base, of an voperating handle, a pusher member operable by said handle, a dog connected t'o said handle, and a vertically reciprocable rack for cooperation with said dog.

. ln `a iioor board clamp, the combination with a base formed with an opening, of an operating handle, a pusher member operable by said handle, a dog connected to said handle, and a rack adapted for vertical reciprocating movement in the openin'gin said base 'and lfor cooperation with 'said dog.

3. ln a floor board clamp, the combination with a base formed with an Opening, ofan operating handle, a pusher member operable by said handle, a ldog connected to said handle, a rack adapted for vertical reciprocating movement in the opening v of said base, and means for Vpreventing 'said 'rack from dislodgment from said A'opening.

4. ln a fioor board clamp, the lcombination with a base for-med with an opening, of an operating handle, a pusher member operable by said handle, a dog. connected lt'o said "handle, a rack adapted for vertical reciprocating movement in the opening of said base, and a pin mounted in said base and 'adapt-'ed to retain said rack against dislodgment.

5. In a floor board clamp,'the'combination with a base formed with an opening and shoulders near the upper end of said opening, an operating handle, a pusher member operable by said handle, a dog connected to said handle and Ynormally adapted for sliding on said shoulders ofthe base., and a rack mounted for vertical reciprocation in said opening of the base and at times adapted for engagement by said dog.

6. In a ioor board clamp, the combination with a base formed with an opening having upwardly-facing shoulders, an operating handle, a pusher member slidable on the base, a rack freely reciprocatory vertically in said opening a dog piyoted to the handle and engaging the 'said shouldersrand "rack when the latter is in its eleva-tedposition and in engagement only with the shoulders when the rack is depressed.

7. In a fioor board clamp, the combination with a base provided with depending spurs and an opening at one end, a' yslid'able pusher member on the other end ofthe base, a handle pivoted to the base, a link pivotally connecting the handle and pusher, a rack freely movable up and down in said opening, and a dog p'ivoted to the handle and adapted to be actuated by rearward movement of the latter, to force the base downward until the spurs are embedded in said support andthe sirable, and while l have described and rack is raised by lcontact withthe latter, into dle, and a rack adapted for vertical reciprocating movement in the opening in said base and for cooperation with said dog, said rack in its lowermost position projecting beyond the underside of said base.

In witness whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

THOMAS B. MILLER. 

